MARCH 8, 1949

SAN FRANCISCO, Monday—My day in Vancouver followed the usual pattern of this trip except that the press
conference was waiting for me when I reached what is known as American House, the
home of the U.S. consul general, Alfred W. Klieforth. A lady also was waiting with
a recording machine for an interview. A half hour was all the time they needed, though,
and then we dashed to the lovely and imposing City Hall, where the mayor Percy E.
George received me. From there we proceeded directly to a luncheon which the mayor
gave in my honor at the Vancouver Hotel. I had the pleasure of seeing again some of
the people whom I had seen in Victoria when I had been there 10 years ago with my
husband, and most of the women's organizations were represented in the group of 60
people to whom I spoke briefly.

After lunch I was taken by Mr. Barker of the Optimist Club to see a rehabilitation
center which is being established largely through the interest of one of the lumber
company heads. They told me that this was not primarily for veterans, though they
would benefit by it. It seems that in the woods there are many lumbering accidents
and this center is meant for all the people of the area who need rehabilitation. They
have a large outpatient department as well as a small number of resident patients.
The facilities for exercise are good now but will be even better when the swimming
pool is completed.

Then we drove to north Vancouver and up a steep hill to see my host's house and his
family and friends. Had it been a clear day the view would have been magnificent,
but unfortunately one could see very little because of the haze.

Back at the consulate we had a pleasant cup of tea and I was glad to learn that this
house was bought for Mr. Klieforth by our government. That seems to me so much more
sensible than letting our representatives search for accommodations when every place is so crowded that almost before one tenant moves out a new one
moves in. This house in Vancouver has pleasant grounds around it and is a comfortable
and adequate place for living and for necessary entertaining. Mr. Klieforth and his
wife have spent a great many years in Europe and were in Germany during the Hitler
period, so they had much of vital historic interest to tell.

When I went upstairs I had barely time to go over the mail, write the column and dress.
Then, before dinner, the members of the consulate staff came in so I could meet them.
Immediately after dinner we went to the auditorium where I spoke.

The lieutenant governor of British Columbia, the Hon. Charles A. Banks, and his wife came up from Victoria for the evening and asked us to stop in
for a minute at the Vancouver Hotel on the way home, which we gladly did. I was deeply interested to find that before the war they had
both lived for a long period of time in the center of New Guinea where they had carried
on a most interesting business enterprise. His description of flying machinery in
and of walking through the jungle where one could not fly would have interested our
soldiers who fought over that area.

E. R.

(WORLD COPYRIGHT, 1949, BY UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE, INC., REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR
IN PART PROHIBITED.)